American Ballet Theatre’s opening night gala performance at City Center on Wednesday night felt like a whirlwind of the art form. There were Frenchy Fokine works, two hearty Russian pas de deux, and a robust American ballet. They were presented in that order – and in an increasing order of quality: good, better, and best.

The evening opened with “Le Spectre de la Rose,” which did not bode particularly well. In this duet by Michel Fokine, the Spirit of the Rose (Herman Cornejo) visits the Young Girl (Xiomara Reyes) in a dream as she dozes after coming home from a lively ball. The ballet delivers on the old saw “good things come in small packages,” but there are only two dancers and they must convey quite a lot in a short time and a small space. The execution of this ballet on Wednesday night suggests there these performers’ potential has not yet been reached.

Herman Cornejo is an excellent dancer who balances a magnificent soaring quality with machine precision. He’s unusually gifted in jumping; this guy is positively spring-loaded. But though this role is plenty bouncy, the Rose also calls for flourish and embellishment, which on him seemed forced. The extra rolls of the wrist, poses on the diagonal, and Egyptian arms did not seem to have been integrated smoothly into Mr. Cornejo’s dancing.

When Mr. Cornejo did get to leap and turn, he was so confined by the walls of the scenery that he had to clip everything a bit shorter and lower than he would otherwise. He has reined himself in for this ballet, but what’s needed is a greater sense of finesse and style. He has a three-week season to perfect it.

As for Ms. Reyes, her role is the sort that she’s known for: sweet, lovely, and happily romantic. She did put a calm ooze into her swoons, but it must all be richer and deeper if there is to be an emotional impact from the work. So we shall see.

Continuing the Fokine sweep was a rather bland version of the Nocturne from “Les Sylphides.” Like “Spectre de la Rose,” this ballet needs immaculate details. And individually, that seemed taken care of. Julie Kent brought a precise, delicate air to the stage. Maria Riccetto used her tiny wrists and hands to articulate the gentle quality of the ballet. And the arms of the corps de ballet, especially in the opening, made for a beautiful sight: they looked both buoyed from underneath and pulled upward by strings.

That remarkable image seemed to fade away faster than a sylph could flutter off. Can it be sustained during the full ballet? We’ll see.

Irina Dvorovenko danced a stunning performance of “The Dying Swan,” also by Fokine. This short solo is a dramatic riff on “Swan Lake,” and who better to dance it than a lover of on-stage drama, like Ms. Dvorovenko? Sometimes floppy but mainly fluid, she created a captivating creature.

For the black swan pas de deux and coda from “Swan Lake,” Paloma Herrera was in fiery form, dancing with strength and excitement. She seemed to have throw off some (though not all) of the tense quality that sometimes grips her dancing. Marcelo Gomes was his ever-appealing, powerful self. Gillian Murphy and Jose Manuel Carreno danced the pas de deux and coda from “Le Corsaire,” which is a glorious showcase for these two supreme talents.

The best twosome of the evening was Alessandra Ferri and Angel Corrella in “Other Dances” by Jerome Robbins. These two dancers give so much in terms of personality, verve, and warmth. They are artists, and in a lighthearted ballet like this one – which blends waltzes and mazurkas with Robbins’s playful sense of humor – they had created a charming portrait. Charming but fleeting, this was a galaonly performance.

What will be back, throughout the season, is Jiri Kylian’s “Sinfonietta.” Though the open plain on the backdrop looks like it could be Ohio, the trumpets in the music by Leos Janacek suggest English hunt country. The fact that a Prague-born choreographer made it suggests? Well, let’s put nationalism aside. This rousing work of contemporary ballet speaks to optimism and hope in humanity, without political borders.

The opening, and closing, portion of “Sinfonietta” are especially musical, combining bold trumpets with leaps by a series of brawny male dancers. The piece had cohesiveness and collective strength; as a group, the dancers gave the movement (often more modern dance than ballet) potency in each of the five movements. Even so, individuals stood out. David Hallberg and Mr. Gomes took several passes across the stage together, creating a marvelous masculine energy. Stella Abrera demonstrated impressive quickness, and her ability to turn her queenly air into something more democratic was unusually attractive.

“Sinfonietta” was an excellent work to close the program, and allowed for the audience to leave on a wave of enthusiasm for the coming season.